From the article: "The Ann Arbor bookseller reports fourth-quarter results next week. And the expectation is for more multimillion-dollar losses, turnaround experts say."

Equally concerning is the company's stock price - selling at a fraction under 70 cents per share this morning - compared to its key competitors. Borders still faces de-listing.

The key competitors are Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble, both of which outsell and outperform their smaller rival.

Fascinating in this Freep article are the comments about the Borders brand and how the public may be viewing it compared to the corporate sense of it. One example: How the company invested in its own online sales vehicle, despite the ubiquitous (and successful) Amazon.

Can the Borders name work it out of the hole the company is in?

Doubtful. And sadly, that's true even in Ann Arbor, which doesn't need to lose a corporate headquarters, more jobs or a downtown anchor store.

What I see as a casual customer feeds even more into doubts: The informal liquidation was clear on my last trip to the store from the cardboard boxes strewn on tables bearing 75 percent off signs.

And the more frequent sale emails aren't enough to get me back into the doors, either. The last one that I almost used was good for 40 percent off one book. I happened to need two for gifts - and just went to Sam's Club and paid that price without a coupon.

The customer nearby who was buying the same title for his child considered his kid's request to buy a couple of books. "No," he said. "We'll get that now. The other we can find on Amazon."

Borders already has replaced its CEO, laid off nearly 900 employees this year and announced store closing. A reverse stock split - to help stave off de-listing - is considered, but the company also sits under a $42.5 million loan coming due in April.

Those might be valid corporate strategies for a solid brand and in normal business times.

The company now needs to consider whether either is true today. And what the cost to shareholders should be.